Double-glazed windows & doors in Berwick.
Berwick is a tale of two suburbs — the historic Old Berwick village (heritage brick and weatherboard, 1880s–1960s) and the post-1990s growth corridor on the way to Beaconsfield. Both have one thing in common: their original glazing is single-pane and bleeding heat. We retrofit both honestly.
The Berwick double-glazing story.
Two housing eras, two retrofit paths.
Old Berwick (the hill, around High Street and the village): 1880s federation cottages, 1920s–50s weatherboard, mid-century brick. Original timber sash and casement frames are usually still beautiful and structurally sound. For these we machine new beads and drop a 20mm argon-filled IGU into the existing rebate — preserves the period character, no permit issues, $400–$700 cheaper per window than full replacement.
Berwick growth corridor (Manuka, Brentwood, Eden Rise, Edrington): 1990s–2010s brick-veneer or render. Original aluminium sliding windows with non-thermally-broken frames — the frame itself conducts heat almost as badly as single glazing does. For these we replace the entire frame with thermally-broken aluminium plus an argon Low-E IGU. Bigger job per window, but the U-value drop is dramatic (3.5 to 1.7 W/m²K typical).
Cold westerlies + clay subsoil.
Berwick sits at 65m elevation and catches the full south-westerly winter wind funnelling up from Western Port. Heating bills run $500–$800 a quarter on a single-glazed 4-bedroom. A typical full-house retrofit (15–20 windows + 2 sliding doors) drops that 30–40% — payback inside 7–10 years on heating savings alone, faster if you factor the VEU rebate netted off at install.
Heritage Overlay caution.
A handful of streets in Old Berwick (around High Street, Wilson Street, Peel Street) sit in the South East Melbourne Heritage Overlay. Replacement windows on heritage-listed facades need a Council planning permit — you can retrofit IGUs into the existing sash without one, which is one of the better reasons to retrofit rather than replace on heritage properties. We confirm the overlay status at site visit before quoting.
Typical Berwick jobs.
- 1990s growth-corridor 4-bedroom, 18 openings, thermally-broken frame replacement ($24K–$32K, VEU offsets ~$4K)
- Old Berwick weatherboard, 12 timber sashes, IGU drop-in retrofit ($14K–$20K)
- Eden Rise rear sliding door upgrade to 3-panel stacker with Low-E IGU ($6K–$9K)
- Heritage Overlay cottage, retrofit-only into original frames (no permit) ($16K–$22K)
- 2010s render-look brick-veneer, full house, north-tuned SHGC, west blocked ($28K–$38K)
Other service areas.
Free Berwick in-home measure.
Retrofit vs replacement called honestly. Heritage Overlay checked. VEU rebate netted off the quote.